1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to stitching or stapling apparatus, and in particular to apparatus for forming and driving a wire staple through a stack of sheet material, such as paper.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Stitching or stapling machines are well known and are sold, for example, by Interlake Packaging Corp. under the trademark "CHAMPION STITCHER". Such machines are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,252,011. It is known to utilize such stitching or stapling machines in conjunction with duplicating, collating or other types of paper handling devices for stapling together stacks of paper sheets generated at the output of such devices.
One of the difficulties in such applications is arranging the stack of loose sheets and positioning it at the stapling region in a neat stack with the edges of adjacent sheets vertically aligned. While there have been provided copying machines or the like with built-in stapling devices, there has not been provided a simple and effective stand-alone stapling apparatus which can conveniently be used in conjunction with an associated rotary collating machine for receiving and stapling the output thereof.